Holder addresses active-shooter situations at police-chiefs conference

WE'VE seen at least 12 active-shooter situations so far in 2013," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told thousands of law-enforcement officials gathered at the Pennsylvania Convention Center yesterday.

By the time he was done speaking, the number had risen to 13.

As Holder addressed the International Association of Chiefs of Police on the rise of active-shooter situations in the United States, a Nevada middle-school student was shooting a math teacher, two classmates and himself. The classmates survived, but the teacher and the shooter did not.

The tragic incident highlighted Holder's call for new strategies, protocols and an "aggressive national response" to the disturbing rise in active-shooter situations across the country.

No one knows such situations better than Michael Kehoe, chief of police in Newtown, Conn. This morning, Kehoe will give a presentation on the tactics, response and lessons learned from last year's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Yesterday, he was a recognized guest at the IACP's first general assembly.

According to Holder, the nation averaged five active-shooter situations annually between 2000 and 2008, but since 2009, that number has risen to 12 a year.

"Even more troubling, these incidents seem to be getting more and more deadly," Holder said. "Over the last four years, America has witnessed an increase of nearly 150 percent in the number of people shot and killed in connection with active-shooter incidents."

Protocol previously dictated that the first patrol officers on the scene of an active-shooter situation should await more specially trained officers. But it's become clear that to prevent mass casualties, patrol officers "must sometimes be the ones to directly engage an active shooter," he said.

That's why it's important to make sure all officers have the best equipment and training possible, Holder said.

Introducing Holder, IACP president Craig Steckler, a retired chief from Fremont, Calif., said a majority of the association's members were "profoundly disappointed" with the Department of Justice's decision not to challenge the new, relaxed marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado. He was backed by applause from the crowd.

"This decision . . . will open the floodgates for those who want to legalize marijuana throughout the country," Steckler said.

Holder indirectly spoke to the issue when he talked of modifications to the Justice Department's charging policies as they relate to low-level drug offenders.

"This will help ensure that individuals accused of these crimes can face sentences that are better suited to their alleged conduct and that limited criminal-justice resources can be used more effectively to hold accountable violent criminals, drug kingpins and high-level traffickers," he said.

Holder said that law-enforcement officers, especially in communities that are "sometimes defined by disorder and distress," must bridge the divide of distrust and hostility between cops and citizens.

"The substantial body of research tells us that when those who come in contact with the police feel as though they're treated fairly, they are more likely to accept decisions by authorities, to obey the law and to cooperate with law enforcement in the future," he said.

The day's other keynote speaker, FBI Director James Comey, said a life of public service comes with the "responsibility to do good."

"I hope sometimes you take a moment to remind yourself, as corny as it sounds, that your work has moral content. You are not, I assume, doing it for the money," Comey said, adding that despite the modest pay, law-enforcement officials have a big impact, "especially for those you serve and protect."